Some applications are classified into two categories, that is, bound applications and unbound applications. The bound and unbound applications normally run on a set top box and/or other customer premise equipment (CPE) device that also executes an operating system which enables the device to operate and execute other applications such as bound and unbound applications which can provide features and/or functions to a user or device external to the device executing the bound or unbound application.
A bound application is an application that downloaded and/or executed by tuning to a video channel. A bound application uses resources and data that are obtained, e.g., loaded from the channel the device implementing the bound application is tuned to. Such data is sometimes called in-band data since it is obtained from same channel, and thus frequency band, used to provide video and/or other content which is output by the CPE device. In the case of bound applications the application is normally downloaded and executed on a customer device, e.g., such as a set top box (STB) when it tunes to the channel. A bound application is terminated, and thus destroyed, when the customer premise device tunes out of the channel from which the data was obtained, e.g., when a channel is changed and the STB tunes to a different frequency band corresponding to another channel.
An unbound application is an application that can run and continue to run even if the channel to which the device executing the unbound application is changed, e.g., even if a STB tunes to a different channel the application will not terminate as a result of the changing of the channel to which the STB is tuned. Since the execution of the unbound application is not tied to the device being tuned to a particular channel, the application is considered not to be “bound” to a particular channel and hence the name unbound application. Traditionally unbound applications get data used by the unbound application from Out-Of-Band (OOB) channels. Examples of unbound applications include applications such as StartOver and LookBack application from Time Warner Cable which are based on catalog data which provides information about a program or program portion, which has been or is being broadcast. The catalog data provides sufficient information to the set top box to allow the set top box to identify a program for which the service is to be provided and also where within the program streaming should commence or jump to under control of a user.
StartOver is a Time Warner Cable application which allows a user to begin watching a broadcast program from the beginning after at least a portion of the program has been broadcast. A StartOver application, when executed on a STB, allows viewers to start and view a currently watched program over from the beginning of the program. LookBack is another Time Warner Cable application. LookBack application allows viewers to request and view programs that were broadcast on the same channel earlier on demand. Such application are often implemented as switched digital video services where the content corresponding to a program is streamed in response to a user request to the STB or other CPE device corresponding to the user using the StartOver or LookBack application.
Some unbound applications such as StartOver and LookBack rely on catalog data sent from a server to determine titles available for viewing. Traditionally catalog data corresponding to a plurality of channels are bundled together and sent Out-Of-Band (OOB), e.g., through an OOB channel, to STBs.
As discussed above, traditionally unbound applications such as StartOver and LookBack get the application data from Out-Of-Band (OOB) channels. Since StartOver/LookBack catalog data and/or other application data corresponding to different channels is usually bundled together and delivered out of band, i.e., through an OOB channel, the amount of data that is delivered OOB can be considerable larger than the amount of data needed to support such services for an individual channel.
One disadvantage with this approach of providing content corresponding to multiple channels together as a bundle using OOB signaling is that for some devices such as older set top boxes, OOB bandwidth is often very limited. This makes OOB delivery either impossible or expensive for at least some devices in that other services or features may have to be restricted or avoided if the OOB bandwidth to supply catalog and/or other data corresponding to multiple channels. Furthermore, downloading and processing catalog data corresponding to a large number of channels and/or programs to STB and processing can also be CPU and memory intensive, particularly for some of the STBs such as legacy STB devices which have limited memory and processing capabilities.
In view of the above discussion, it should be appreciated that it would be desirable if methods and/or apparatus could be developed which would allow delivery of unbound application data, e.g., catalog data and/or other unbound application data, to the customer devices through inbound delivery methods, e.g., through an inbound channel to which a customer device such as STB is tuned to. Such an approach would allow avoiding the use of scarce OOB bandwidth as well as use of STB memory and CPU processing power.